Mumbai to soon get high-tech blood bank

The state government has finally cleared the proposal to set up a metropolitan blood bank in the city. The proposal for the blood bank, in the Sion hospital premises, was initially met with stiff opposition as doctors felt the space it would take-up would hamper plans of expansion of the hospital and the doctors’ quarters.

The deadlock was resolved with the intervention of municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar. “The state government approved the project on July 16. Now, we will go ahead will the design and calculating the estimates,” said deputy municipal commissioner, SS Kudalkar.

This initiative is part of a countrywide project by the National Blood Transfusion Council and the funds for it will be disbursed by the central government. The project is estimated to cost Rs340 crore.

The blood bank boasts of having high-tech facilities and will function as both a service centre and a referral centre. Another key feature is its storage facility. “It will have a storage capacity of more than 1 lakh units,” said a civic official.

On the cards is an automated set-up for blood testing and facilities that would allow for transfer of blood components. It also proposes to have advanced technology to aid research on stems cells and artificial blood. This state-of-the-art blood bank will be the second of the kind in the city, after the state-owned metropolitan blood bank in the JJ Hospital complex at Byculla.